FateKaleid Liner: Nullpunkt
by Misterangryeyes
Summary: Before Illyasviel got roped into becoming a magical girl, before Miyu arrived, before Rin Tohsaka and Luviagelita Edelfelt came back to Japan in search of the Class Cards - Shirou Emiya walked into the Moonlit World.
1. Chapter 1: A New Beginning

Shirou walked his bike to the school gate, spotting a familiar person standing near the entrance. His face broke out into a small smile. "Yo, Issei. Tired of Student Council work?"

"Emiya?" The young student council president Issei Ryuudou nodded to him once he turned around. "You aren't wrong, but why are you in such a hurry today?"

"I've got dinner duty," said Shirou cheerfully.

"So that's why," Issei mused, waving Shirou through the gate casually and catching sight of someone coming down the street. "Well, it looks like someone has come to greet you."

"Meet me?"

Issei waved as he walked back to the school. "See you, Emiya."

"Yeah, see you," Shirou called back. _Who could he have been talking about—_

"Onii-chan!"

– _other than my precious little sister?_ Shirou smiled. "Oh, what a coincidence," he said as he turned around. "On your way back then, Illya?"

The albino elementary schooler ran up to Shirou's side, practically bouncing with boundless energy. "Yeah! Let's go back home together." She sported a wide grin.

"Sure, but what about the bike?" Shirou asked, patting the one and only seat.

"I'm confident in my running!" Illya pumped a fist up in the air for emphasis. "Osu!"

"Oho?" Shirou smirked. "Well then…"

He hopped onto his bike and slammed his feet against the pedals, cycling for all he was worth. "Let's make it a race home!" He called backwards.

"Ah! Wait, onii-chan!"

 _I'll slow down a bit after_ — "WOAH YOU'RE FAST!" Shirou exclaimed, nearly falling off the bike as Illya somehow closed the gap between them in a matter of seconds.

"If it's a hundred-meter dash than it doesn't matter if you're a boy!" Illya huffed with herculean effort as she matched Shirou's pace. "You're the…one who'll lose!"

"Okay, okay, I'll slow down," Shirou laughed, hitting the brakes, and slowing his pedalling to a pace where Illya could comfortably walk at.

"Ah, I'm so tired onii-chan," Illya pouted, still breathing somewhat heavily. "Let me a ride on the bike too."

"I don't have enough seats though?"

"Then gimme!"

"You're so unfair!"

Their banter flowed naturally between him and Illya for the rest of their trip home.

Indeed, it was almost enough to make him forget that only a week and a half ago the city's ambient Od had surged to astonishingly high levels and was still increasing.

Kiritsugu, Irisviel, and Aunt Maya were caught up in a civil war somewhere in Europe. They said they would be stuck there for another month or so, which meant that Shirou was on his own for now.

It was almost enough for him to consider going to the current Second Owner of Fuyuki City, Tohsaka Rin, for her help in investigating the matter. Even though he considered her a friend, he would just had to hope she would not take the news that he was a magus, even if a third-rate one, too badly. But she had already been gone for a year, presumably to study at the Clocktower, and he had no idea when she would get back.

Luvia Edelfelt was the only other magus he trusted to that extent, but she had gone to the Clocktower to follow her rival, as usual.

So, he, a third-rate magus who could only Project hollow baseball bats and Reinforce objects at a fifty-percent success rate had to dodge the soon-to-be arriving Clocktower mages while they investigated as well do some snooping around himself on an unprecedented phenomenon that affected the entirety of Fuyuki City.

Shirou sighed, shelving those thoughts away as the Emiya house came into view. He would make do, somehow. He always had. Perhaps he should take time off of his part time job and cooking club to work on his magecraft more.

 _And there are those strange dreams I've been getting lately too,_ thought Shirou as he unlocked the front door. _Is it normal to dream about swords? I haven't seen any recently..._

"We're home!" Illya proclaimed as she bounded through the opened door as Shirou put away his bike in the entrance hall.

"Welcome back," Sella called out warmly, as she folded laundry in the living room. "By the way Illya, a package came in the mail..."

Shirou smiled as he took off his shoes and closed the door behind him.

He was overthinking things. He had made his choice five years ago, and his thoughts and feelings had not changed since.

Illya was bickering with Leysritt over her having started that magical girl anime before her. Sella sighed, concerned about Illya's future, and even more about her other sister's, but she kept folding laundry diligently anyways.

 _For this,_ he reaffirmed to himself. _For them._

That Night:

The boy tried to swallow the lump in his throat, nervously looking at the clock and fidgeting in his seat. He had drained his cup of tea a few minutes ago but had not since mustered up the courage to fill it again.

It was an hour past midnight and Kiritsugu was late.

Any twelve-year old's imagination could run wild at their parent being late when it was around the time to come back home at night. A car crash, a plane falling out of the sky and landing on dad, being struck by lightning-

Any normal twelve-year old's imagination could conceive of those as idle fantasies, scenarios to act out in their head while waiting for their father's inevitable arrival.

Shirou was not sure whether Kiritsugu would come back at all.

Because of what he had seen last Wednesday.

When the doorknob clicked open, Shirou just about jumped out of his seat. As his father's familiar quiet footsteps came closer to the kitchen, Shirou's heart started pounding.

"Iri, is that—" Shirou's father froze, staring at Shirou, who stared back in turn, shocked.

Blood matted the man's hair, stemmed by a small blood-soaked strip of cloth tied around his head. His black coat, usually so clean and ironed, was crusted with mud, and pocked with small holes. The suit he was wearing underneath was in no better condition.

Shirou leapt from his chair and ran to his father. "Dad?!" He asked frantically. "What happened to you?"

"Shirou, I…" Kiritsugu was at a loss for words for a moment before the calm temperament Shirou knew so well reasserted itself. "Do you remember where the first aid kit is? Fetch it for me please."

"Dad…"

Kiritsugu's voice was firm. "Now, Shirou."

Shirou ran and got the box out of a kitched cabinet for his adopted father, and by the time he had turned around, Kiritsugu had sat down at the kitchen table. Bringing the kit over to Kiritsugu, he hovered for a moment uncertainly before his father gave him a dry smile and opened the first aid kit himself.

So Shirou sat in silence, watching as Kiritsugu undid his coat and suit and began stitching himself up. His father worked methodically and with practiced movements.

 _How many times has he had to do this?_

"I suppose you have questions," said Kiritsugu without pausing or meeting his eyes.

"Eh? Oh…yeah," said Shirou. "Um, dad, what…what are you _doing_?"

"Stitching my own wound closed." Kiritsugu stilled for a moment before continuing his treatment with a sigh. "Sorry. Blood loss is getting to me. It's just…" The man paused a moment to collect his thoughts. "I'm not sure where to begin."

Shirou didn't know what to say. He wanted answers, but he wasn't sure he would like them. And he had so many questions.

"What were you doing last Wednesday?" Shirou finally asked quietly.

Kiritsugu blinked. "You mean you…right, I suppose you could have seen some of that." He fell silent in thought again, his hands still holding needle and thread.

The man met Shirou's eyes, pinning his gaze. Those eyes held a profound weight Shirou could only describe as tired.

"My son," said Kiritsugu softly. "If I tell you this, there is no going back to the life you have now. The world I work in is not kind. Because I knew this better than anyone, I have tried to keep it away from you and your sisters for as long as I could. I truly wished your future to be free of my sins and past. Shirou, you shouldn't—"

"Tell me, dad," Shirou's voice was firm.

"You don't understand—"

"No, I do." Shirou shook his head vigorously. "I understand that my dad is fighting for me and Illya and Leysritt and Sella and mom. He's not going to do it alone!"

He hoped Kiritsugu didn't notice the shaking fist he was hiding under the table.

"You'll wake your sisters if you yell that loud, Shirou."

The boy jumped and whirled around, biting back a scream as he saw his mother descending the stairs.

"Iri," said Kiritsugu, sounding relieved. He put the needle and thread down.

Irisviel sighed, padding over to Kiritsugu's side in her slippers and white dress, and holding his hands in hers, heedless of the dirt and caked blood on them. She smiled into his eyes lovingly, and he back at her before turning to address Shirou again.

"You're just a boy, Shirou," she said to her son softly. "The world Kiritsugu and I came from isn't a place for children."

"I don't care. I-I can't let you do this alone," Shirou pleaded, his voice cracking. He felt hot tears gather at the edges of his vision. "I love you mom, dad. You took me in when I had nowhere to go. Illya, Sella, and Leysritt are my family too. If I can protect them with something as worthless as my life, then I-!"

Irisviel had knelt and grabbed Shirou by the shoulders, cutting him off and staring into his eyes. Mother and son, their eyes gleamed with tears about to flow.

"Never say that again," Irisviel whispered to Shirou. "How could you even think—oh Shirou." She hugged her son.

"It's because you're our son we're worried about you," said Irisviel. "Now and always our baby boy."

Shirou tried to say the words to tell her she was wrong, that he was twelve and not a baby anymore. But he could not find them: to deny her would have been denying the warmth of her embrace.

"I didn't adopt you to fight for me."

Irisviel blinked and straightened up, turning to her husband in surprise and quickly wiping at her eyes. "Kiritsugu," she admonished.

Shirou fought down a shiver as he saw his father scowl at him. It was the same face Kiritsugu had been wearing when he saw his father fight off five men at once in that alleyway last Wednesday.

"You are not a child soldier, Shirou," said Kiritsugu. His tone softened as Irisviel glared at him. "You're a human being so treat yourself like one. If you die that's it for you, don't you get it? All you would leave behind for us...would be grief."

Shirou remembered Illya smiling up at him from her cradle. How Sella smiled at him when he finally made a dish of fried rice. How Leysritt affectionately noogied him when he fetched her a popsicle from the fridge.

He couldn't imagine them crying. His heart wrenched at the thought of it.

 _But still..._

"I know," said Shirou resolutely. "This is my choice. I'm going to help you, one way or another, and help protect this family. Like a real hero of justice."

Kiritsugu sighed, looking at Irisviel, who met his troubled eyes with her own. For a long moment, the couple spoke in a wordless language few lovers were close enough to speak.

Irisviel drew up another chair and sat next to her husband, and wordlessly started treating his wounds.

"Okay," said Kiritsugu in a voice that suggested this situation was anything but. "I suppose I should start by saying that I'm a magic user."

Shirou stared. His father was the most no-nonsense person he had ever met. There was no way he would joke about this.

But there was a first time for everything. And the way that those five thugs had been beaten in an instant…

"Magic user? Not 'magician', like in Harry Potter?" Shirou asked slowly.

Kiritsugu barked a laugh humorlessly, wincing as Irisviel forcefully slapped antiseptic onto his arm. "I'm surprised you know about that book. But no, magician means something different to people like me. I'll keep this within ten minutes, and we'll continue if we need to."

"Ten minutes?" Shirou echoed.

"You have school tomorrow, dear," said Irisviel with a radiant smile. "Don't worry, mommy's going to make sure you get there on time."

"Ah," the boy said uncomfortably, desperately hoping Kiritsugu had not brought the motorcycle/terror machine with him.

"A magus can be called the occupation of a person who wants to reach the Root of all human knowledge. For power, to satisfy their curiosity, their reasons don't matter. A true magus walks the knife's edge between life and death at all times, and as such they are ruthless and devoid of morals in their pursuit of trying to reach the Root."

"Wait, so they're all bad guys?" Shirou asked. "And how's magic still a secret after all this time? And what's the Root?"

Kiritsugu held up three fingers. "Barring a few exceptions, yes they could all be called bad people in your eyes."

He put down his ring finger. "The Root is supposed to be the place where the entirety of all human knowledge ever is stored. Even getting close to it requires an immense amount of power. Though most magi just use it as an excuse to seek power for power's sake."

He folded his middle finger. "As for why the existence of magic has remained a secret, there's an organization called the Mage's Association that's responsible for this, not to mention their occasional collaboration with the Holy Church. They cover up incidents and enforce the law of secrecy mercilessly."

Kiritsugu's eyes narrowed as he stared intently into Shirou's eyes.

"Never let them learn that you're my son. Understand? Under no circumstances should anyone, especially a member of the Mage's Association learn that you're the child of the Magus Killer."

"Magus Killer?" Shirou repeated. Realization shot a shiver down his spine. "You mean you..."

 _Killed people?_

Kiritsugu looked pained, and not just because of his wounds. "As I said before, the Moonlit World isn't kind. Especially to someone who grew up in it."

"But dad..."

"Shirou, you're not a child anymore," Irisviel said gently, reaching out and stroking his hair. "You know it isn't always as simple as that."

The boy looked down, on the verge of tears again. "Yeah, but…"

"I would be lying if I said I had no choice, Shirou." The boy looked up in shock. "I killed people by choice because I believed I was being a 'hero of justice'. I thought that if I sacrificed the lives of the few for the many, it would mean I was doing something right." Kiritsugu shook his head, standing up and looking down at his son. "I can't even remember how many people I've killed using that twisted rationale. I was a monster, Shirou."

"No," denied Shirou frantically. "You thought you were doing the right—"

"It doesn't matter what I thought," said Kiritsugu quietly. "What matters is that I have lived a life of killing men, women, and children, and it has saddled me with a dark reputation that will stay with me far past the day I die."

Shirou wished that what his father was saying was a lie. But he could not say for himself one way or another.

How could he possibly answer the level of hurt behind those eyes?

"Now that you know all this Shirou," continued Kiritsugu. "Are you still willing to walk this path?"

Irisviel smiled at him, and Shirou knew that neither of his parents would think any less of him should he say no. And he was tempted, so very tempted to just go to bed and sleep and wake up to a new day without bleeding fathers and anything about magic.

It was not a choice a normal twelve-year-old should have been presented with.

It was the only choice this twelve-year-old could have made.

"I have no regrets," said Shirou solemnly.

It was a long moment before Kiritsugu sighed. "...Aren't you supposed to say that after you've done something you're proud of?"

Shirou blinked, genuinely surprised. "Haven't I?"

Irisviel laughed softly into her hand as Kiritsugu frowned.

"Get some rest now, Shirou," his mother said with a small, tired smile. "You have to face a whole new world in the morning."

* * *

A/N:

And now, for something completely different.

This was the product of having read Prisma Illya recently and trying to break writer's block for LZO. I put off reading Kaleid for so long because I wrote it off as lolicon fanservice. Then I saw a few fights in the first season of the anime and went 'alright you have my attention that was pretty cool' and smashed through Zwei, and what's been translated of Drei.

I mean, it's still lolicon fanservice to the extent that I purged my browsing history several times, but towards the middle of Zwei when everyone's favorite Irishwoman showed up is when it really started to get good.

Fun fact, Google Translate tells me Nullpunkt is German for zero point, following the naming convention of the Kaleid series.


	2. Chapter 2: Disruption of Daily Life

**2:**

Shirou breathed deep of the nighttime air as he looked around the fenced in schoolyard, thinking hard about where he would place an artifact capable of emitting so much prana he could have repaired every car in Japan if he could control it. He was dressed lightly in his tracksuit jacket and pants, and jogged past here almost every night as part of his daily exercise. The first time he remembered the schoolyard smelling somewhat more fresh than the rest of the area, and remembered thinking it was odd given its proximity to human activity.

It was only now, after feeling like something was off yesterday on his last run, that he noticed the Od piling up in odious quantities, unseen to the naked eye. It was only now that this Od had started smelling like something other than ozone.

Three years ago, Father had taken Shirou over his summer break over to China to see someone for more training and in trying to find out more about his Origin and Element. She had smelled much like the scent wafting across his nose now, which, in hindsight, should have been the first clue that she was going to try to eat him.

 _Snake_ _and blood. And..._ The last scent to tickle his nose was more conceptual rather than an actual smell. _Rock?_

Father had discovered Shirou to be the equivalent of a magic bloodhound when Shirou had taken a sniff of his case of Origin Bullets and painted his breakfast across the dojo floor. From there, Shirou had smelled enough magic to recognize what kind of specialties magus' had before seeing them in action.

Most of the time, he could not describe properly the kind of smell he got from a magus. Rin and Luvia both smelled like some kind of heavy glass, which fit their family's known specialty of working with gems. Father's smell shifted from rot to something like baby powder depending on what kind of Time Alter he had used recently.

Mother, Sella, and Leysritt smelled...hollow.

Father had changed the subject quickly when he said that last part out loud.

Shirou sighed and looked around quickly to see if anyone was around. Typically at this time there was not, but he Reinforced his eyes and ears slightly to make sure. He did not want to be called suspicious by someone just by hanging around this place.

 _This is where Illya goes to school._ With that realization, Shirou put just a little more prana into Reinforcing his eyes and ears.

He heard the crickets chirp and the low rush of a lone car speed past a neighboring road half a block away, and saw nobody else. This part of Fuyuki was quiet at this time of night. _I don't even want to think about what will happen if I get caught wandering around here by a policeman._

Shirou walked forward into the schoolyard, sniffing every so often, and quickly found the smell was the strongest near the center of the football field. He knelt down and muttered:

" **Trace, on.** "

Faintly glowing green lines only he could see pulsed as they spread out on the ground from his hand in a manner that resembled computer circuits. They faded in around a two arm's length radius around him as he finished his Structural Analysis.

Shirou's eyes narrowed.

Aside from a tremendous build up of Od, there was apparently a perfectly normal distribution of sand, dirt and grass, typical of well-used soccer fields, underneath his feet.

Shirou tried again, but focused his Structural Analysis on going deeper into the ground rather than around him. This time, only the ground under his palm glowed light green.

Again the sand and dirt and detritus. Again with the solitary earthworm. Again with the -

 _Wait a second._

There was something directly below him, a hundred meters underground, where the Od was surging up from in a torrent.

 _It's...small. Small enough to fit into my hand I think._ Shirou tried to make sense of what he was looking at in his mind's eye. His image of the object had poor resolution, but it was not going to get much better than that. Pushing it, his Structural Analysis only reached down that far. Honestly, it had been a miracle he had gotten even that much. _Maybe the ambient Od is somehow helping..._

Speculation aside, at least now he had some idea of what to look for. The history of this school and whether something had been buried on its school grounds, for example. And whether it had anything to do with any magical events that had happened in the past.

 _Still, that's unlikely,_ thought Shirou with a frown as he stood up and wiped his hand clean on his track pants. _I don't think anything could be buried down that far without it drawing the kind of attention the Mage's Association woul_ _d notice._

But if there was anything Father had taught him, it was to keep an open mind and trust nothing until you were dead sure of a fact or the threat was was surely dead.

Shirou sighed. His father's absence still weighed heavily upon his mind. As he looked up at the moon, he felt even more subdued for another reason now other than the developing mess he had on his hands.

 _When are you going to come back, dad?_ The reflections of the moon in Shirou's morose eyes were like faraway dreams. _There are way too many girls in the Emiya household now for a man to live with peacefully.  
_

* * *

"I'm back," Shirou called out, slightly panting as he closed the door behind him.

He had finished his run while pondering what other avenues of investigation he could use, but so far had not thought of much else than what Father had advised him about before. His father had said the Internet was likely his best source of information on all sorts of topics, considering how technologically illiterate mages were supposed to be nowadays. Meaning it had the least likelihood of him being caught by Clock Tower investigators.

"Oh, Shirou," said Sella, poking her head out of the kitchen with a smile. "You're back a little later than usual. For a second I thought there was a surprise sale going on."

Shirou blinked for a moment. "Really?" He asked, seeming confused. "This close to midnight?"

Sella shrugged with a slight smile. "Well, I guess everyone has slower days."

"Isn't that every day for you, Selly?" Leysritt drawled from where she was sprawled out on the couch.

"Quiet!" Sella turned a scowl towards her sister behind her. "Or I'm never making any hamburgers for you again!"

"Eh?" Leysritt's voice sounded far less concerned than she felt. "What a drag..."

Shirou smiled as he started walking up the stairs. "Don't worry sis, I'll make some for you later."

Leysritt tilted her head over the armrest to look at Shirou. "Oh, well in that case - "

"Don't encourage her!" Sella glared at Shirou, who retreated up the stairs with a laugh.

He headed for the bathroom.

 _I worked up a good sweat tonight,_ thought Shirou to himself, closing his eyes. _I think I deserve a bath._

* * *

 ** _Twisted metal slammed into the earth, remnants of hollow Noble Phantasms. Blood ran freely down his face.  
_**

 ** _No time to think. Only enough time to act on instinct._**

 ** _Golden flashes of light sent more blades hurtling towards him.  
_**

 ** _By reflex more than conscious thought, he Traced them all and sent them forward in turn.  
_**

 ** _It wasn't nearly enough to stem the tide.  
_**

 ** _As he put a Reinforced dash of speed to avoid the rest of her bombardment, it only hammered in what he already knew: he was hopelessly outmatched_** **_in this fight._**

 ** _But that was fine. All he needed to do was stall her, keep her fighting him until -  
_**

 ** _He spun, nearly losing his grip on his twin blades as three other swords smashed into his hasty guard from golden portals underneath his feet._**

 ** _This was getting too dangerous, too quickly._**

 ** _If he didn't use_** [ **death** ]it[ **death** ] **_now he wouldn't get another chance.  
_**

 ** _He Traced all the weapons he had ever seen with a thought and shot them forward, only to be matched effortlessly by his opponent._**

 ** _He held his left hand up as his weapons shattered against and slowed the advancing iron curtain.  
_**

 ** _With every word he spoke it felt as if a knife were carving in and out of his head, exposing his brain to the frigid air.  
_**

 ** _But the pain was nothing if it meant she could finally live well, in another world free from cruel fate._**

 **"[I am the bone of my sword]"  
**

* * *

" _You say that you - (Hey!) - like being with me the most (Yay!)..."_

Shirou blinked away what little he could remember of his dream, waking from sleep as his alarm clock played that song his mother liked so much. He turned his head to look at the time, and winced as a lance of pain unexpectedly speared into his face from his nose. He groaned and sat up, gingerly touching his nose and slapping his alarm clock off with his other hand.

 _At least it's not broken,_ thought Shirou. _Considering what hit me in the face, that is._

He paused for a moment. _Wait, what hit me in the -_

 **[It was the start of a new day like any other.]**

He rubbed his nose as it tingled, and sniffed.

He sighed and got up, doing some light stretches to shake off what was left of his drowsiness before heading to the bathroom to wash up.

He did not notice Illya stealing a few more glances at him more than usual, during breakfast.

Nor did he think much of how she asked him about how he was feeling, and how she let out a relieved sigh as she entered her school gates upon receiving his light reply.

He rubbed at his head as he entered through the gates of Homurahara High School, and in doing so just missed the two unusual cars parked outside.

A black limo and a rental.

* * *

"That's a heavy sigh you just let out there, Emiya."

Shirou chewed at his egg roll for a moment before replying.

"Yeah, I guess it was," said Shirou, smiling weakly at Issei. "I _might have_ stayed up all night studying that engine manual you gave me last week."

 _Not to mention its lunchtime and I still haven't come up with a good place to start looking for answers to everything that's been going on all of a sudden...  
_

"You really must do something about these obsession of yours, Emiya," said Issei with a shake of his head while lightly tossing his salad. "If word gets out about this, soon you'll be receiving petitions to join the engineering club on top of the standing requests from the cooking club, basketball team, track team, baseball team - "

"And I thought I was safe in here!" laughed Shirou, as he gestured around the room. The desks the two were sitting at were put together in the middle of the room. Broken appliances stood over laid down newspapers in the corner, and next to the bookshelf towering behind Issei was a whiteboard bearing the blue, green and red marker residue of an intense student council meeting the day before.

"The Student Council President manages the interests of the student body at large," said Issei primly, as he opened a small bottle of dressing and started lightly spraying his salad. "In fact, your recent departure from the archery club has made many club advisors petition me to help convince you to join their club. As well, I personally believe it is a waste for a man of your many talents to be a part of the 'go home club'."

"I keep saying I can't handle the tournament environments though," Shirou sighed. "Why do they keep asking?"

Issei muttered something in a low voice, just as he bit down on a crouton.

"What is it?"

"Nothing at all," said Issei flatly.

Their conversation stalled as someone rapped at the door sharply.

"Is the Student Council President in?" A male voice asked, deep and neutral.

"Ah, yes, come in," called out Issei as he straightened his lunch and uniform to look more presentable.

The door slid open and a tall man cutting a sharp frame in his clothes with a deadpan expression on his face stepped inside. His eyes went to Issei first but they flickered towards Shirou quickly, almost as if expecting to see him in the room.

"Kuzuki-sensei," Issei stood up from his seat hastily. "Is there something you wished to discuss something with me?"

Kuzuki nodded in acknowledgement, but looked at Shirou dead in the eyes. "This room is for Student Council members, Emiya. I have not seen you here before. Why are you not spending your lunch in the cafeteria or elsewhere?" The teacher's tone was so matter of fact it was impossible to feel like Shirou was being interrogated.

"Ah," said Issei uncomfortably. "Well, he was going to help fix the old air conditioner in here, we just decided to eat some lunch first." He gestured with both hands to the old appliance standing quite dejectedly in the corner of the room.

"Issei told me about it yesterday, and I figured I should see what I could do," Shirou put in helpfully.

"I see," said Kuzuki, not looking like he cared one way or another. "Well, that's fine. One student in the Student Council room should not matter much. As long as you do not disrupt regular Student Council activities with your presence, I see no issues."

With that apparently settled, Kuzuki turned to the Student Council President. "Issei."

"Sir?"

"We have two returning students here. They will be arriving here soon after meeting with the principal. It was suggested you help them reacquaint them with the school."

Shirou had gone back to eating his lunch, listening to the conversation with one ear as he went over his options and capabilities again. _So my priorities are as follows: Investigate the rising ambient prana in Fuyuki, starting with that object buried under Illya's schoolyard. Use the internet to search about that school's history. I don't have to deal with avoiding Mage's Association members for the time being, but it's better to not leave a trail that could lead back to me later.  
_

"I would be happy to do as you ask, but why me in particular?" Issei asked slowly.

"I was under the impression that you were friends with both of them?" Kuzuki asked, before blinking in realization. "Ah, forgive me, I have not said who they are yet."

Shirou froze in sudden realization.

 _He can't be talking about -_

"Rin Tohsaka and Luviagelita Edelfelt."

Shirou nearly dropped his chopsticks as Issei's eyes grew wide. In some small part of his mind, Shirou somehow noted Kuzuki did not stumble at all on saying Luvia's full name.

"They're back already?!" Issei exclaimed. "I thought we had finally gotten rid of those - " He stopped himself with some effort when Kuzuki raised an eyebrow at him. "I mean, of course I shall show them around the school. It would be my - ugh - honor." The words fell from his lips like bad cough drops.

"Well, that's fine then." said Kuzuki plainly. He nodded to both students in farewell and left, sliding the door shut behind him.

Issei sat down on his seat and sighed as heavily as Shirou had done earlier. "This complicates things," Issei said gloomily.

 _Tell me about it_.

On one hand he knew just how amazing Rin and Luvia were as mages, and he liked both of them as people and his friends. He had every confidence in their abilities to solve the mystery of whatever was going on in this town.

On the other hand...they were both Clocktower mages and he was afraid that offering to help as a magus who had been hidden under their noses practically since the moment they met would not be received, well, _positively_. No friend ever wanted to be lied to, least of all friends like Rin and Luvia.

 _I don't think I should tell them yet, but I have to sooner or later if something goes wrong,_ decided Shirou. _If I want to help Dad, Mom, and Maiya someday, I can't stay away from the Mage's Association forever. Besides, Rin_ _and Luvia are_ _the best of that bunch anyways._

"You still don't see eye to eye either of them, Issei?" Shirou said with a frown that was only half feigned.

"You don't understand Shirou!" Issei set aside his salad to safety before starting to gesticulate wildly. "That face Tohsaka shows to everyone is just a facade! You...you cannot conceive of the sheer blackness that lies in the depths behind that smile!"

Two shadows appeared behind the closed door's window. They were recognizable outlines, in fact.

Shirou's eyes went wide. "Uh, Issei - "

"And Edelfelt's wanton use of her family's resources is simply too disrespectful to be tolerated by people who venerate their ancestors! She never adheres to the dress code either, instead flaunting that ridiculous western style dress that looks as if it came from the 18th century! Such shamelessness is - "

"Issei!" Shirou was frantically shaking his head by this point.

"Shirou Emiya!" Issei jabbed a finger at Shirou with a stern look. "I am trying to lecture you on the evils of the creature called woman! Indeed! Do not be led astray by their useless lumps of - "

And then you could have heard a feather hit the floor.

Indignant righteousness morphed into dawning, horrified realization, then just as quickly fell into a serene calm.

Issei pronounced his epitaph calmly, all things considered.

" _They are right behind me, aren't they._ "

Two different yet similar hands clamped down on Issei's shoulders.

"Why did you stop? You were on quite the roll there, Student Council President," trilled the twin-tailed demon in red on his left.

"Indeed, it was quite the impressive sermon you gave there. Oooh-hoh. As befitting of a true Japanese monk," the blue and gold revenant piled on from his right.

Issei and Shirou made eye contact.

The Student Council President and aspiring monk blinked rapidly at Shirou, communicating in Morse code.

SOS. Shirou had not learned much Morse code himself, but that one line was universal.

Still, the situation could not be salvaged. Shirou closed his eyes to the impending suffering.

 _Shirou._ Issei's desperation was such that Shirou could almost hear the words in his own mind. _Please._

Shirou quickly glanced at the two arbiters of justice, their auras already tangible and their eyes shadowed with blood-lust.

He shook his head.

There was nothing to be done.

* * *

"So you see, its easier if you just - "

Ayako Mitsuzuri stopped talking for a moment, blinked and looked around.

"Is something the matter?" Asked a girl with purple hair softly as she lowered her bow.

"I dunno," Ayako said with a shrug. "Thought I heard someone screaming."

"Oh my," said the kouhai, her violet eyes widening. "Should we tell someone?"

Ayako thought about this. It had been a familiar sound. She had heard it before, but when -

The memory came crashing down on her head in an explosion of red and blue.

"Oh," said Ayako.

"Senpai?"

Ayako looked at Sakura Matou with pity in her gaze.

"W-why are you looking at me like that, senpai?" Asked Sakura with a confused smile.

It was odd how someone so purple could be so different from those two so red and blue. Someone as gentle as Sakura Matou could not possibly be capable of the carnage those two could bring to bear when they united against a common foe...

Ayako shook her head. "It's nothing, now, keep your stance up and lets try again..."

* * *

"It's good to see you two again," said Shirou as he placed two cups of tea on the table before taking a seat across from the two girls. "How was London?"

"Oh, you know - " started the red one.

"I have been - " began the blue one.

The two girls shot glares at one another. Before they could start, Shirou quickly cut in with an easy-going smile.

"Did you meet your family like you said you would, Luvia?"

The two girls blinked, but while one turned towards him with a bright smile the other crossed her arms and scowled nowhere in particular.

"Oh-hoh! I am pleased you remembered!" said Luvia while tossing back her long coiled hair. "Yes, I met mother and father while studying, during a time when they were not taking any commissions. They were pleased with my progress and reaffirmed their support of my position as apprentice to the M - ahem, excuse me, geological section of the Royal Museum."

Shirou didn't need to fake his warm smile.

His eyes closed for the few seconds he held the expression, so he could not have noticed how his smile caught the light coming in from the widow, _just so,_ and how the sight of it made the two maidens' hearts flutter.

"That's great," he said, genuinely happy for his friend. "Rin, you're in the same field as Luvia, right? Did you two work on the same things while you were there?"

Rin coughed into a hand as she got her heart rate under control. "You could say that," she said, half as calmly as she would have liked. "We had the same employer but we had our own projects to complete. Actually, we're back in Japan because of another assignment of his, that - that - _generous_ old man."

Whoever the old mage was, it seemed he was quite the hard taskmaster. Well, he would have to be, to trouble mages of Rin and Luvia's caliber. "Really?" said Shirou. "So how long are you two going to be staying here for?"

Instantly the two girls suddenly glared at each other and he knew he had stepped on a kind of landmine.

"We would have been finished a lot earlier if someone hadn't - "

"Excuse me? If you had not lost control befitting your barbaric disposition - "

Shirou sighed as the argument played itself out in earnest, his attention barely catching the words, only really taking into account the emotional undertones. It was a skill he had adopted from dad when mom was complaining about not being able to drive.

Back in middle school, the two of them would start arguments over the smallest of things without any warning, like whose lunch was tastier or which seat in the classroom was the best. Once, they had even argued about which water bottle they wanted to drink from. It was even more ridiculous since he heard stories of the two of them get along almost cordially when he was not around. And it would fall to him to decide in the end which was the correct choice once they got the aggression out of their systems. _It wasn't my fault, this idiot did this, and so on._

"Shirou!"

"Shero!"

The two finally rounded on him with oh-so-familiar tones and words.

A pained smile crawled across his mouth. "What is it?" He asked, as usual.

"It wasn't my fault Ruby left, right?!"

"It wasn't my fault Sapphire went to someone else, right?"

"Huh?" Shirou blinked, taken aback. "What are you two talking about?"

The two blinked back at him and glanced at each other, suddenly calm.

"We were talking about our pets, of course," said Rin, her face completely blank.

"Yes, dear Sapphire was capricious even in the best of times," said Luvia as she tossed back her hair brazenly. "I suppose then it is no wonder that she would throw her lot in with someone else for a time."

"Wow, didn't take you two for pet owners," said Shirou wonderingly. "Are they cats or dogs or...?"

"Cats." "Dogs." Said Rin and Luvia at the same time. They both blinked in unison and stared at each other with suspicion.

"Huh?" said Shirou rather intelligently. He was missing something here.

"I mean, Ruby is mine," clarified Rin. "The superior breed of animal."

"Sapphire is mine, truly humanity's best friend," said Luvia lifting her chin up at Rin.

 _Oh,_ realized Shirou. _So that's how it is.  
_

Their eyes narrowed and Shirou cut in before they could start up a debate as old as recorded history.

"How about I show the two of you around the school first?" Shirou said hastily, standing up from his chair. "There's a lot that's changed since you were last in Fuyuki City and you might see some familiar faces too."

The irritation bled from the two girls' faces as they turned to him.

"That would be lovely!" "Sure!"

He was careful not to step on what was left of Issei in the process of leaving the room with Rin and Luvia.

* * *

Shirou's eyes snapped open as the Bounded Field he had set up earlier went off. He checked the clock. Eleven PM.

Someone had left the house this late? One of his family members. Before going to bed every night, Shirou made sure to set up two Bounded Fields, one to detect the presence of those who entered the house and one to detect those who left it. Each was supposed to be almost undetectable, set to unravel as soon as its job was done.

Shirou got up and quickly got dressed, changing out his pajamas for his zip jacket and jeans.

He had to hurry if he wanted to see if anything was wrong. Whether it was a late-night convenience store run from Leysritt or a simple walk from Sella.

As he opened his window, he caught a flash of movement heading down the street. He recognized the silhouette from its height but that only served to confuse him more.

 _Illya?_

Shirou could only feel like something ominous was happening.

For now, he had to follow her to where she wanted to go before he confronted her.

He carefully hung out of his second floor window and dropped down onto the front lawn, smoothly rolling with the fall. He looked up and saw Illya disappear around a corner.

He followed.

He did not have to run, but it was not like he was comfortable with the idea of tailing his sister either. He was half of a mind to just catch up to her and ask her about what she was doing and half curious as to what her actual destination was.

Regardless, as he kept following her, he realized the roads they were taking were familiar. _Isn't this my jogging route?_

If she wanted to exercise she would have done it earlier in the day though. So then why -

Illya's school appeared from around the corner.

And Shirou was struck by a sudden horrifying notion. One that he was afraid to even put thought into.

 _Please walk past the school, please walk past the school..._

She walked past the chain-link fence and towards the schoolyard, holding something long with a circular head in one hand.

A feeling of doom loomed over Shirou, threatening to swallow him whole. "What do you think you're doing Illya?" He whispered.

As he got closer, he took cover behind some hedges nearby, and peeked out, hoping to see Illya just practicing kicking a football around and not having anything to do with -

Rin.

A bead of cold sweat ran down the side of Shirou's face. The chances of her having picked up football as a hobby while in London were slim, to say the least. Quickly, he let a trickle of prana run through his magic circuits and cast a rune of dark over himself. With the amount of power he used, it only made his body and clothes look slightly more darker, but as long as he was in a strong enough shadow most spells that detected presences would consider him a part of the hedges shadows.

Since it was nighttime, this method of concealment's efficacy naturally rose, despite the streetlights nearby. Shirou had his father to thank for knowing this.

The girl with twin-tailed hair stood on the football field, around the area where Shirou had investigated only last night and started talking to Illya with an air of familiarity.

Despite everything, Shirou frowned at that. What exactly was the relationship between -

Then flashes of white and pink light came from the stick in Illya's hand, cloaking her in light for the briefest of instances before dying down again.

Shirou blinked, rubbed at his eyes, and looked at his little sister again. _What in the world...?  
_

The light pink and white dress she was wearing was just like that of the clothes worn by the magical girl shows she liked to watch, complete with a magical stick in her hand.

 _A Mystic Code in the form of a, what did they call it in those anime?_ Though Shirou could hardly believe what he was seeing, his mind was still working a mile a minute trying to rationalize everything that was happening. _A magical tool, or a something-or-the-other stick. Did whoever make that really take inspiration from magical girl shows?_

There was frankly an amazing amount of prana coming from Illya now that she had worn that magical girl outfit. So much that he could not believe either Rin or Illya could have made something like that.

 _Other than how it looks, isn't that Mystic Code actually incredible?_ Shirou shook his head in amazement.

Regardless, with Rin here he could not just pop out of cover and ask Illya what was going on. That would be provoking a confrontation he had no intention of -

Suddenly a magic circle expanded from under Rin and Illya, surprising his little sister as much as it did Shirou, though Rin remained calm as ever. And then just as suddenly, before he could do anything more than vaguely recognize the shape of the magical circle, both Rin and Illya vanished.

Shirou sucked in a breath. "What the - !"

 _Stay in the shadow. If you leave it, you break the spell. Rin isn't the kind of person to hurt children. There was no way that this a heartless experiment._

All perfectly rational arguments he thought of as he ran out onto the schoolyard and to the area where Rin and Illya had disappeared.

He crouched down and muttered his aria again, " **Trace, on.** " He paused. Was it just him, or was it easier to - _no, focus on your sister and friend's disappearance_.

Structural Analysis of the field yielded much the same results as it had before. The object dispersing Od was still there, and his search on the internet found nothing to indicate anything had been buried on the property since the school's construction.

 _Then think about magic circle Rin used._ Why did it look familiar to him? Shirou had studied only general magical knowledge, and even then he could not remember studying any specific magical arrays or rituals.

"Ah, its no good," Shirou sighed as he stood up, pacing in thought. "It must have been some kind of transportation spell, but where would they even go? With Illya in that Mystic Code too..."

Shirou had only had the barest of suspicions that everything happening recently had been connected. The build up of Od, Rin and Luvia coming back to Fuyuki, and the object under the schoolyard. Seeing this had made it clear that there was something happening between each. If only he knew just how each moving part was connected and what they were, then he could be sure he was not making a mistake by confronting Rin and Luvia.

 _Still, I should at least wait to see when they come back._ Shirou thought. _I'll find someplace else to watch for their arrival for now, the hedge I used is too visible from the street._

Shirou jogged with urgency over to the fence on the opposite side of the schoolyard and hid behind a lone hedge, crouching down and peeking out through the leaves.

And not a moment too soon apparently, as two other girls just set foot onto the football field from the street.

Shirou recognized one of them easily. _Luvia_. _So this really is Clocktower business. But who's that girl she's with?_

The girl looked to be around Illya's age, and looked very much like her except for her black hair and darker eyes. She was also dressed in a magical girl costume, but this had a different design and color scheme. Light blue and dark purple, and holding a differently colored Mystic Code as well.

She had a blank expression on her face, as if she had never smiled in her life. No, Shirou felt a weird certainty that she had smiled only very rarely before.

Shirou blinked. His left hand was feeling uncomfortable. He looked down and found his left hand was clenched into a tight fist. No, he was feeling tense like had been in a fight with somebody recently. Like he had just come off one of his father's training camps.

After Shirou breathed deep and counted to ten in calming down, he looked up to see the remnants of a magic circle fade into nothingness. Maybe they had gone to Rin and Illya? Or maybe somewhere else?

"Ugh," Shirou groaned. "Too many questions I don't have an answer for." _I'm going to have to confront either Rin or Luvia about this. If I keep sneaking around like this, I'm going to mess up somehow when I talk to them and my cover will be blown._ The only reason why he had not been outed as a magus, albeit a third-rate one, had been because neither Rin nor Luvia had been suspicious of him. He needed to gather as much goodwill as possible by coming forward himself.

He stood up from behind the hedge and looked around. He was not going to cross the field in case either Rin or Luvia came back. Luckily there was an open door in the fence behind him that led to a park nearby that Shirou was familiar with. From there he could get to his house faster than if he had taken the streets.

As he walked through the door on his way home, he started thinking.

If Rin and Luvia were doing something evil, then he could not possibly escape both of them. He needed to create a situation where he could speak to only one of them and in a case where they could not act openly, somewhere with enough people around to restrict their movements if things went horribly.

The darkness of the trail opened quickly onto a park lit up by the moon and the surrounding streetlights.

An idea suddenly popped into his head.

It was Luvia's birthday soon, wasn't it?

 _Everything lines up pretty easily then,_ thought Shirou as he smiled softly. _I'll have to invite -_

* * *

Rin and Luvia suddenly paused in the middle of their brawl for a singular moment. One girl felt strangely buoyed and the other felt nothing but dread.

Illya and Miyu blinked and wondered what had happened.

And the moment passed and they started fighting again.

* * *

 _\- out to the city to look for a present._

Shirou nodded to himself, calm despite of everything.

Tomorrow, he would stop playing his cards so close to his chest. Tomorrow, it would all come out, for the better or worse.

* * *

 **A/N:**

Life sucks.

Alright, that's enough complaining, sorry you had to listen to that.

The point of divergence is in the next chapter, with a lot of set up happening already. There isn't much action for now of course, but that's because Shirou's the main viewpoint character. As he gets into the conflict so too should the action ramp up.

LZO still getting worked on as well.


End file.
